Unpopular Opinions Book Tag: Updated Edition

Happy Thursday everyone! I hope your week is going well 🙂 Today I thought that I would do an updated edition of the classic “Unpopular Opinions Book Tag.” I first did this tag 2 years ago and so much has happened with my reading since then. I feel like your reading tastes and experiences can change a lot over any given year and I know that my answers are definitely more current than the first one. My original tag is linked right here. 

For those of you who aren’t familiar with this tag, this is basically your answers on books that you have very different opinions from many of the normal crowd. This tag is always fun to see because you really see many of people’s reading preferences and opinions. But let’s remember that these are opinions and aren’t any offensive action against you. We’re all friends and we all love books 🙂 Now let’s go!

1. A popular book/series that you don’t like

This book is such a popular and well loved contemporary book, but this wasn’t for me. I hate the miscommunication trope in general and this book took it to an extreme. While I do love the movie references and the setting, I just felt like the main character didn’t have to be this stupid as far as not really bothering to not look for the anonymous guy she was talking with. I kinda get why she did run from situations, but her attitude was hard to relate to and it was way too long for a contemporary.

While I don’t hate this book, this was sadly a forgettable book. I do love anime and have always loved anime and Japanese fantasy stories like this since my younger years. But so much of the dialogue felt flat and so much of the traveling part felt like filler and there wasn’t a sense of urgency with what they were trying to accomplish. I liked the female villain and her sections and of course that this is an #ownvoices book with lots of Japanese words thrown in to help you learn the language. But the hype didn’t work for me on this one

2. A book/series that many people don’t like, but you love

This book immediately came to my mind with this question. People are way too cruel for this book. This is a Gothic and modern retelling of The Phantom of the Opera and if we’re being honest, that musical is very dramatic. This book understands the dark romantic and dramatic aspects perfectly. This book is very well done, with the author playing with the tropes of the musical very well and there’s a spoiler element in here that I honestly liked. Sure it only needs one specific term for it instead of two (if you’ve read the book, you’ll know what I mean). But this book is such a great retelling and doesn’t deserve the hate it gets.

3. A love triangle where the main character ended up with the person didn’t want them to end up with/an OTP that you don’t like

Two words: no chemistry! Enne and Levi are our main characters and this first book wasn’t good. It’s pretty predictable that if you have two main POVs in a story, these two characters usually end up together. Or the first guy that the protagonist sees is their love interest. But I never noticed any chemistry or connection between these two people. I even thought that some of their own thoughts were too similar so with having just read this first book, this “relationship” isn’t there.

4. A popular genre that you hardly reach for

• Adult science fiction
• Adult contemporary
• Romance
• Thrillers

My answers are pretty much the same. I just don’t have any interest in many adult genres. I don’t reach for adult science fiction because some of the popular sci-fi books are HARD science fiction and I don’t know if I will be able to get into it. Withe other genres, I feel thrillers are the same 10 different plot points repeated in upcoming books and I just don’t need to read any romance novels.

5. A popular or beloved character that you don’t like

Lila Bard…one of the most annoying characters I’ve read about. She seemed interesting with being a thief and following her own rules. But she just felt like a broken record for the first two books I read without much growth or wanting anything else. She thought and said the same similar things. Then she became a completely special snowflake by the end of book two and I just didn’t care anymore. I like her middle grade book City of Ghosts way more.

6. An author that you can’t seem to get into

Sadly, I can’t really get into Katherine Arden. I have tried two separate times for the audio book and actually tried reading a paperback of The Bear and the Nightingale and I could never get past the first four chapters. I loved the setting but with everyone and their friend saying how slow the first book is and I’m sorry, but that’s a hard selling point for me to try it further. Then I read her middle grade book and while I did like it fine, I did address my problems in this book. The main girl was basically a bully and even though she was hurting from her mother’s death, she is still rude and the book doesn’t address this. It almost felt like it was okay for her to be mean in her grief. So for me, both books I’ve tried by her haven’t gripped me.

7. A popular book trope you’re tired of seeing

First person POV in nearly every YA book! I know it’s a style choice, but I feel like first person doesn’t help me connect more than third person does. I feel like often times first person limits the world building around the character and they are a bit too transparent. It feels like not much is left to the imagination if that makes sense. I have read many books that do first person well, but I just think that third person can have more mystery, show more of the world/magic/fantastical elements and the main character can be fleshed out more. First person feels like it’s trying too hard to force the reader to care about the protagonist when it should happen naturally. This tends to happen with me in third person much more.

8. A popular book/series you have no interest in reading

Sorry, I’ve just jumped down the serious rabbit hole. These don’t interest me at all. I don’t like reading graphic sex and very graphic violence (it’s too much for me) so Nevernight is a no go. I’ve heard way too much hype about The Cruel Prince that it makes me not want to read it even more. While I’ve heard good things about the Netflix adaptation of To All the Boys I’ved Loved Before, I’m not interested in a story like that. And finally I’ve decided to remove Slayer from my TBR. I’ve seen negative reviews from readers I trust and I don’t think I want to read a Buffy spin off. I’ll just watch the TV show.

9. The saying goes that “the book is always better than the movie”, but what movie or TV show adaptation is better than the book?

Hands down I love the film version of Howl’s Moving Castle so much more than the book. I have loved the movie since it came out and was curious of how different the book was. The book was written in 1986 and I listened to it during college before my blog. Honestly, I found the writing to be very outdated and also very confusing. I didn’t comprehend what was happening half the time and I didn’t latch to any of the characters. The movie makes Howl funny but also someone to kinda root for, despite his silly and stand-offish nature. I also think the chemistry between Sophie and Howl was way more interesting than in the original book.

I tag: Toya, Erik, Amanda, Kathy, Angelica

What are your unpopular bookish opinions? Do you agree or disagree with these? Let me know in the comments!